Having finally got the first version of the app through the door, its time to take a look at the small things that got put off. At some point you have to make a cut and say this is it, lets finish Version 1 first. Even when you know Version 1.1 has already got its head peaking round the door.

A few things from the current backlog that we want to address:

Improve the stability of the backend

add 3D touch to the putzich icon.

make swapping between friends and partner more seamless

Slight improvement to the comparison chart

make the email registration more robust

Unicorns???

That sounds great, but what exactly does improve the stability of the backend mean? Well personally I would like to have everything run a tad quicker, I don’t want to see status messages pop up every time I click on an action, So we working really hard on eliminating that and giving the user a real fluid experience.

We also changed the app listing from entertainment to productive, not because we are taking ourselves now seriously, rather because the chances of being seen in the app store when you competing with the likes of Flappy Unicorn III are slim.

We now have english texts for the app in the app store, for all those who naturally would have bought the app but just didn’t understand German. Now the translations are done in the back of my head so its more than possible that I got something messed up, or that there is a typo in there somewhere (of course I meant to write it like that! Sure sure…) But 5 € bounty to the first person who finds the typo and tells me about it.

The whole process of getting the app into the store now runs a lot smoother, so I am looking forward to getting regular updates in there and keeping you all posted on our progress.

Today is a very special day for the both of us here at Simply U+I. We have released our very first App: Putzich.

Please feel free to take a look at our website and download the app. You can find us here : http://putzich.simplyui.de or on the appstore as Putzich (in both English and German).

Putzich: It was always about competition. Take the politically correct brigade and shove it. The idea was simple. I get shouted at when I don’t pull my wait around the house. This was a way for me to make everyones work transparent. The app has squarely resolved that problem – at least for me, and shown a couple of interesting side effects, such as the virtual competition. I now find myself doing another couple of jobs at the end of the day, not better my wife’s score, but to have a bigger score than my brother, who, lives 500 miles away on a different continent. I smile every time I realise i’m being socially pressured into doing something, that has no relevance in my actual family life.

Looking back It has been almost a year since we started development on the putzich app. In fact here is the picture with the original concept – taken from my kitchen wall on 23.10.2016

We have gone through several iterations, the first of which was a simple list like it was shown from the board. This is for me one of the most enjoyable parts of app development, taking a rough idea and quickly developing it into something I could touch and get a feel for. Then constantly pushing it further, integrating the ideas that came from using it into newer working prototypes. Even realising when we’d run down a rabbit hole and have to wind the whole development back.

The backend has been refactored at least three times that I know of. I hated every single one. At that particular moment it always feels like time is lost and you’re standing still. After each rewrite I loved the product even more for what it had become. As you might guess, patience doesn’t come easy to me. So suffering refactoring is a particular type of torture. Then again I am no believer in hanging on to code. Especially when Daniel says its got to go. I really do believe we are all the stronger for it today.

Getting the first feedback from beta testers was the next hurdle. This gave use a far broader picture of what others expect and how they actually use the app. Often completely different than how we’d originally thought it through. One such part was decided after the first round of testing That the app could be better done with pictures instead of the accountant like excel sheet list feeling. Which made us go back to the drawing board again, and again. Refining, polishing and cutting away until the product began to feel right.

It has been an amazing journey. The app development was completed within 4-5 months. What then happened was a long pause while we had to refocus on setting up a company and getting all of the paperwork done. Something of which both of us have had no experience with. This allowed through the next phase to happen and get an idea about the longevity of the product. This is just as important as the first look and feel. If we want to ask money for the app. Which of course we do. Then I want to deliver something that has a value, not just for today, but something that will keep me engaged as a user for the weeks and the months to come. This part I can’t wait to dig further into. After using it regularly since its conception, We have amassed a mass of data from myself. That given a bit of mining will provide valuable insights, not just to me, but by following the same general principles for others aswell.

So what comes next? Well this is the unidentified territory that excites me and makes me the most nervous. How to market the app. How to get broader appeal. I’ve come to realise that App development is about 40% of the job. Now we have to learn marketing, blogs, instagram tweeting what not and running a business. I especially would like to hear from anyone who takes the time to download the app and use it. What do you like, what annoys you and what would you like to see next? I would love to say ratings are unimportant to us, but thats a half truth. If you like what we’ve done, we’d love to have your rating, yes it really helps. If you have an issue, get in touch with me directly. I want to hear your pain and where we can, make it better for everyone for the future.

Whatever happens I can’t thank everyone involved enough. its been a real rollercoaster ride. My first thanks to our long suffering families. Thanks to Daniel for putting up with all my shit, and thanks to all the testers out there, without whom the product would be a far, far poorer experience then what it is now.

We’ve been busy focussing on getting everything done which is required to setup a business, which has sort of pushed the development of the App to one side. On top of that we picked up a side project which is keeping the coding side busy. None of this is particularly bad per se, but it does give the feeling that the putzich development has slowed down somewhat.

What is has allowed me to do is to resharpen my focus on Putzich. In the times of stability where there are no major changes , I can get a better feeling for the long term use. Since Putzich is now well over six months old since its initial conception, I can think about what is there that I still like – a lot, and what feels off, stale or not quite finished.

So the good news is I’m really happy with the interface and how we gain user interaction. Its still feels simple and fluid. There is nothing that gets in the way and its all just where it should be. Great.

Where i’m not so happy is putztichs medium to long term appeal. I don’t feel there is enough coming back from the app to keep a persons interest for longer than a week. So this is the area we need to focus on. What is going to make it enjoyable for the user, and enriching enough for me to ensure that I want to come back and open the app each day.

Here’s our dilemma then. The App as it stands is ready. We could publish today and start marketing it. However the feeling is that this is not at its true potential. Even though the app is still fun to use, we want to invest time in it to make it the best we can. If putzich is our showcase model, then of course it needs to be with all the bells and whistles. This takes time, but only then, when I think we’re happy, should it be published. As a reader and a potential user, you deserve nothing less.

Ok, ok, we managed to miss all of our own set targets and while it may look like nothing much is happening up front, we’ve been working hard on the back end keeping things moving.

So , whats been going on?

Get permission from current employers to set up new company? Check!

Settle on a company name. Really? Really really?? no more changes after this??? Check!

Set appointment with Notary? (Gods this is getting serious.) Check!

Stick with final design and no more changes? Che.. Shit. Well maybe a tweak or three, here, there and ….No no stop it, we’ve got to finish this thing.

Make it ready for android – HAHAHAHA nope, well not yet…. won’t rule it out.

Well whats left to do then?

The answer is, not that much.

There is always polishing that can be done on the UI front.

There are some bugs, but nothing major. The biggest issue that we currently have is user Privacy. Now we don’t mind who sees what we’re doing in our households and when, but we understand that there are (not insignificant) amounts of people who have a different opinion. So we really need to set up a proper privacy system for those who want it. Then need to make it perfectly clear, understandable and usable.

Once we’ve got this done. we should be ready to publish. I can’t wait.